1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an artificial heart pumping apparatus which may be used either externally or internally of the human body for maintaining life supporting circulation.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Numerous approaches are currently being used either to assist or replace diseased hearts. Included among these is the total replacement of the human heart with an artificial heart pump. Research in this area is being done worldwide, and a variety of functional designs now exist. Unfortunately, these artificial hearts have proven to be unsatisfactory due to one or more of the following factors:
(1) excessively large size or weight, preventing implantation in the chest of pumps which supply both systemic and pulmonary circulation; PA1 (2) non-physiologic cardiac output; PA1 (3) presence of non-pulsatile flow, current research suggesting that pulsatile flow may be beneficial to the organism; PA1 (4) use of heart valves which (a) create turbulence leading to excessive hemolysis, (b) provoke thrombus formation and emboli, and (c) allow the formation of bacterial growth; PA1 (5) presence of recesses, cavities, or areas of blood stagnation which are conducive to bacterial growth and the formation of clots; PA1 (6) lack of sufficiently large atrium resulting in venous hypertension due to decreased diastolic filling; PA1 (7) lack of sufficient control mechanisms for the regulations of cardiac output; PA1 (8) non-equal output into the systemic and pulmonary circulation systems resulting in overload.
A variety of prior art rotating vane pumps do exist. Included among these are the following U.S. patents:
______________________________________ 951,197 0'Connor Mar. 8, 1910 7,751 Davis Nov. 5, 1850 1,739,104 Tropp Dec. 10, 1929 2,180,851 Rosner Jan. 28, 1938 2,531,903 Berck Nov. 28, 1950 3,099,260 Birtwell July 30, 1963 3,227,090 Bartolozzi Jan. 4, 1966 3,398,643 Schudt Aug. 27, 1968 ______________________________________
None of the above listed prior art devices, however, recognizes the value of such a rotating vane pump as a substitute for the human heart. Also, the problems inherent in adapting such a pump for use within a human body are neither recognized nor dealt with in these references.